31 Oct Time Management Tips All Employees Should Know
Statistics show that employees spend approximately five hours each week wasting time (doing nothing that is pertinent to their job). While there are many reasons why you may be unproductive and wasting time while at the office, many individuals simply have not developed proper time skills and habits to help them manage their time wisely. Let’s take a closer look at several time management tips. All employees should know to reduce wasted time and money in the workplace!
Understand What Is Important
Prioritizing is one of the most important — and often most difficult — time management tips to develop. When prioritizing, you want to focus on assignments that are urgent and important. This means you must focus first on tasks that must be done right away. As you leave each night, make a list of the top three projects you must accomplish the next day and organize your time so they are completed.
Organize Yourself
A study found that on average, Americans spend 2.5 years of their life looking for lost and misplaced items. By organizing your workspace, you spend less time looking for important documents and files. Instead, you can focus on various projects and tasks right away. If possible, set aside just 10 or 15 minutes each week to tidying up your workplace, filing documents, throwing away garbage and other items that are cluttering your desk.
Remember The Five-Minute Rule
Many tasks are pushed aside because you just don’t want to complete it. The five-minute rule says that if the task will take you less than five minutes to complete, that you do it right away. This will help clear out your to-do list and makes sure little details are not forgotten. This is also a great rule to help you manage your emails. If you can respond and answer your emails within five minutes, then you should. But if responding will take you longer, you should wait until you can dedicate a longer amount of time later in the day.
Determine When You Are Most Productive
When are you most focused and motivated? There is likely a time in the day when you can get more done and are more motivated. Determine when this time of day is and schedule it accordingly. For example, if you are more productive first thing in the morning, do all you can to avoid scheduling meetings, phone calls, and appointments during this time. You may even want to close your office door so you can focus on your most urgent and important tasks for the day rather than be disturbed.
Discover Your Own Distractions
You may be wasting more time throughout the day than you realize. Do you know what is distracting you? At least once a month, track down each minute of your day. Even small tasks such as checking email, taking a social media break, going to the break room, etc., should be recorded. At the end of the day, you can see what your distractions were and how much time you actually wasted throughout the day. When first beginning this exercise, track every minute at work for at least one week. This will help you discover any patterns or habits that may be costing you productivity and time in the office.
By implementing the above time management tips into your routine, you will become a more effective and productive employee and you will see an increase in your performance.
